Our Penultimate Port Call of Probolinggo

So today was our penaltimate port of call of Probolinggo. We had a packed out day. Starting off with our breakfast at the waterfront, ending with the evening show. Sideshow Alley

THE WATERFRONT BREAKFAST

So the clocks went back an hour during the night, so we took advantage of this and had breakfast in the waterfront.

It was so nice to have a change. Instead of the hard beans, hard poached eggs, fatty bacon. So what did I have? A full English breakfast, this time, was a thicker sausage, soggy hash brown and some overcooked mushrooms. The toast was cold which was a shame.

But Tina’s breakfast, however, was great. A small portion of muesli and the most delicious banana bread.

Breakfast down there again tomorrow I feel.

OUR REALLY INTERESTING PROGOLINGGO SHORE VISIT

So we headed ashore. But before that, we were told there is a complimentary shuttle service into town. Brilliant saves on the walking.

So the usual, grab a lucky ticket, what for it to be called, board the tender and head ashore. This time, we were greeted by what must have been over 100 fisherman boats. Of which many of them did not look safe to board let alone go fishing on.

So after our short coach journey, we walked along the road towards the main shopping area. Wondering past the 150-year-old red church, closely followed by the Probolinggo museum. You could tell something was going to be happening as you had many different demographics playing music. But we will come back to this later.

Just walking around for a few minutes it was very evident that road laws in this part of Indonesia were almost nonexistent. As you can see above, two young children without helmets and two adults with. This was a common occurrence. Often would you see a small child standing at the front of the moped with a parent in charge. With most of the time, the child helmet-less.

Just some of the snaps taken while out and about in Probolinggo

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You would think red lights would mean stop. But no, this is just an optional stop. The same as a zebra crossing. So our advice would just pick a time to cross and just do it. Everyone will just go around you.

To prove this theory, I stood walking down the middle of the busy road. To have all the cars and mopeds just go around me.

Then we hit the traditional indoor markets. This was an experience in itself. We made the mistake of walking in the entrance where all the raw meat was sitting. So let me set the scene, it was a hot, dry day. Let’s say about 28-30 degrees. We then walked into an indoor market where there was no natural ventilation. Let’s say we only managed to get 15-20m into the market before the stench became too much.

We then entered a different entrance, and the smell was quite different. You were greeted with flowers (I don’t know if these were edible or not), crafts, seafood (raw prawns just either sitting there or soaking in what must be warm water) and plantains, just thousands of plantains.

We took a short walk around before making our way back to the coach.

This is where we came across the music and dancing outside the museum we were talking about earlier. We had apparently missed loads because we just saw the end of some young boys dancing and then two men with lion masks on performing some dance. It was quite incredible to see this put on just for us from the cruise.

ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING DINNER, AT THE WATERFRONT OF ALL PLACES

It was Lebanese night, and the food was getting very boring and same upstairs. So we thought let’s try it. The starters didn’t appeal to me so we both went just for a main.

Tina had the beef and feta kofta while I had the chicken, leek, and corn pie. Tina’s was delicious, but mine had cold chips because they were just French fries and had lost all heat when they arrived.

This was then followed by a chocolate mint ice cream pie and glazed apples. So from the picture, there were many flaws.

There was no ice cream,

It was a glazed apple, not apples, and finally

The sheer amount of gelatine used to set the pudding was just too much. I had three mouthfuls. One to try, two to double check the flavour and the final one to make sure I was tasting what I was tasting. It was the weirdest and most unpleasant dessert I’d ever tasted.

OMG THE SIDESHOW ALLEY PERFORMANCE

So I had interviewed Mark and Hannah yesterday, and they had informed me that this was one of their favourites.

So we couldn’t wait to see it. With nothing going on, we headed to the first showing at 7 pm. The marquee show lounge was rammed, and this was 20 minutes before showtime.

What an incredible show, each of the dancers and leads had their character, costume, and makeup. The first performance was from the film Willy Wonka (I won’t spoil the surprise of what song).

You are then taken on a visual orgasm of tricks, lighting and motion effects that will have you on the edge of your seat. The thing that got both Tina and me, was the fact it was more than just dancing and singing. There was a lot of acting required from the cast.

We are not sure how long this particular show will be running for. But it is only something you can see on P&O Australia Cruises over a particular cruise length.

The evening was finished with a DVD. X-Men First Class. Tomorrow is a sea day, so with plenty to do. We will have a lot to talk about tomorrow.

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